The NFL trade deadline this year falls on Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. EST. The league has already seen a handful of big-name players moved, with All-Pros such as Quenton Nelson, Jeffrey Simmons, and DeForest Buckner among the headliners.
While we know there is a certain segment of the Behind the Steel Curtain readership who will roll their eyes and voice their displeasure in the comment section about the topic, it would be malpractice if we didn’t have an introspective conversation about the trade deadline
now that we’ve reached that crucial period of the NFL calendar.
Additionally, we hope those previously mentioned commenters will appreciate that we, writers of the Read & React column, are, in our opinion, more measured in our trade-season analysis. You won’t find fantastical trade scenarios and over-the-top pleas for the Pittsburgh front office to acquire our favorite fantasy football stars. Instead, we’ll examine if a trade makes philosophical sense for the Steelers in this phase of their roster cycle, and then discuss players whose names are already being connected to the Steelers at positions of interest.
Should the Steelers make a trade?
RB: I’ve always been a believer in the “never say never” philosophy when it comes to making trades — and I believe that Omar Khan is too, given that the Steelers are seemingly always highlighted in reports about teams calling around the league to check on player availability.
But once again this year, while the Steelers’ record is too good to be a seller on the trade market, the roster isn’t Super Bowl-ready enough to be much of a buyer, either. And in 2026, I’d say that argument is stronger than ever given that Pittsburgh’s roster has proven surprisingly deep — there’s a good foundation for future seasons here, and trading away future capital to fill some holes this year makes even less sense than usual.
Where the Steelers do have a legitimate need at midseason — defensive back and wide receiver — I’m just not sure if there’s an good deal out there for the team. At cornerback, Alontae Taylor comes with a monster cap hit while Charvarius Ward and Donte Jackson are both 30 and likely one-year rentals. Tariq Woolen might be the most interesting name given he’s 27 and could still develop into a quality starter, but he would probably cost more than expected in terms of draft picks; he’s also had a streaky season, to put it kindly, with the Eagles so far after wearing out his welcome in Seattle.
Meanwhile, at wide receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr. going to the Texans for a 2027 second-round pick earlier this season showed exactly what the trade market will be for underperforming but talented receivers — namely the Jaguars’ Brian Thomas Jr.
Ladd McConkey would be a great get as he could go on to be a long-term piece for the Steelers, but he would cost a lot in terms of draft compensation if he’s even available in the first place. Josh Downs is probably the most realistic and interesting trade target I’ve heard floated for the Steelers this season, but an Adam Schefter report says the Colts want a third-round pick in return. If and when Downs gets traded, it will likely be for less, but the fact that’s even the initial price tag is steep for a player who might be a one-year rental himself and has proven to be a very good but limited role player through the first three-and-a-half seasons of his career thus far.
Frankly, I just don’t think any of these players greatly increase the Steelers’ championship odds this year. And most wouldn’t raise the odds for next year either, especially considering the draft capital that would be required to add them to the roster.
Pittsburgh has largely made the most of its draft picks as of late as well, with its 10-man class in 2026 already looking like it has revitalized roster depth with names such as Germie Bernard, Robert Spears-Jennings and Gabriel Rubio settling into contributor roles early in their careers. If the Steelers can land their quarterback of the future in the next few years (big if, I know, but a necessary one) and keep a similar hit rate on drafts, this roster could be on a Super Bowl trajectory sooner than expected.
So why try to jump the gun with another trade? Especially when the Steelers’ deadline acquisitions as of late have been the largely uninspiring list of Kyle Dugger, Mike Williams and Preston Smith. Every trade is different, but generally, the players who go for a Day 3 pick are cheap for a reason.
Depending on how long-term Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson’s injuries are, and how confident the Steelers are that Jamel Dean will be healthy for the majority of the remaining season, I would not be shocked in the least if Khan, who has proven himself to be a highly aggressive GM, makes a move. But unless that trade will be for a player the Steelers are confident will be a better long-term investment than the resulting lost draft pick would be — keep the value of a rookie contract in mind as well — I don’t think it’s worth pursuing. Good players are just too expensive, and the Steelers aren’t a trade away from contending in the first place.
If the deal is good enough, of course Khan should inquire, but the current landscape does not look like an ideal one for a team like the Steelers to be wheeling and dealing ahead of the deadline. That said, if Pittsburgh flips a sixth- or seventh-round pick for a band-aid roster solution this week, I won’t be losing any sleep.
RP: Ryland did a good job setting the table for me on this discussion. If you’ve been paying attention to this website’s comment sections, or following the social media accounts of BTSC writers, you’ve likely seen my take. I’ve been staunch in my opinion about this since trade chatter first started in training camp: the Steelers should not trade away 2027 picks or 2028 draft picks to “make a run” this season.
Criticize my fandom if you must, but I’ve consistently said I don’t believe the 2027 Steelers are legitimate contenders. Before the season, I predicted they would make the playoffs, but much like recent seasons, I see them as a team that could potentially get out of Wild Card weekend, but I’m dubious about their prospects to advance much further.
As such, I’ve been watching this season with the longer view in mind. The Steelers entered the season with 11 rookies making the roster, and 29 players who are 26 years old or younger have appeared on the active roster this season. That’s a significant amount of youth on the roster, and the organization should be trying to develop as much of that talent as possible. That means getting those young players on the field and is argument number one for why I don’t think the team should be buyers, or at least aggressive ones, at the deadline.
The three positions the Steelers have most been linked to in trade rumors this season — wide receiver, cornerback, and safety — are also positions where Steelers’ rookies have been asked to step into playing time already this season.
Among them, receiver Germie Bernard has most cemented his role on the team with 291 snaps played this season. While trading for a complementary receiver might be of interest to the team in the short term, I wouldn’t be in favor of trading for a player who could significantly eat into his snap share with a mid-season acquisition.
Safety Robert Spears-Jennings (150 snaps) and cornerback Daylen Everrette (168 snaps) were each asked to step up early this season as well. Spears-Jennings was a pleasant surprise in the absence of DeShon Elliott, but with Elliott’s return last week, the rookie’s 47% snap rate was his lowest in four weeks. Will Spears-Jenning’s role be reduced even further as the veteran continues to ramp up in his return from injury? While that in and of itself isn’t necessarily a negative, I would like to see him continue to earn some playing time. Those are valuable reps that could pay dividends in 2027 when starter Jaquan Brisker is once again a free agent and is insurance should Elliott be injured again.
Likewise, cornerback Daylen Everrette (168 snaps) was a player I thought shouldn’t be rushed onto the field in 2026, but injuries and the departure of Joey Porter Jr. forced him into action early. He’s seen his workload significantly reduced the past two weeks, with 11 snaps in Week 6 and just three snaps in Week 7. While I don’t find it unwise to dial back his snap count to a more specific role this year, adding another veteran to the room would all but guarantee he sits on game days moving forward, barring injuries. I think it’s reasonable to wonder if that or letting him play a handful of snaps a game is more valuable to his development long-term.
But player development isn’t my only reason for poo-pooing the idea of a trade. It certainly plays a part, but my main reason to oppose the team making a trade is that I don’t find moving draft picks for what might only be a short-term solution to be a smart roster management strategy. NFL teams rarely trade away talented players with team-friendly contracts. Players that are traded tend to fall under one of four scenarios:
- They are on an expiring contract.
- The team and/or player is dramatically underperforming to the point they need to move the contract and start over.
- The player’s relationship with an organization has become toxic to the point that it’s untenable, but they are talented enough to avoid being outright cut.
- The team has undergone a schematic shift that no longer meshes with the player.
Teams can find winning moves in each of those scenarios, at varying degrees of difficulty. However, the context of the acquiring team’s roster construction and competitive window are both crucial in determining if a move actually makes sense.
If you believe that the Steelers are still a year or two — and a quarterback — away from truly competing for a Super Bowl, then the last scenario I presented above is the only one that makes even a semblance of sense. Adding a player for half a season and letting them walk in the offseason doesn’t mesh with an organization that has already begun the process of turning its roster over with a youth movement. Likewise, adding a big contract to their books would only make sense if the player is relatively young and at a premium position they need to fill for the next several years.
If we, and the team, can step back from this season and consider the team’s long-term roster health, continuing to build through the draft is the best path forward. Adding big-ticket players through trades and free agency are moves a team should make when it’s putting the final touches on an already strong roster. The Steelers have a lot of promising young talent, but I would argue they are much closer to a full roster reboot than they are to a Lombardi trophy. They’ve acquired a promising young offensive and defensive line, but the secondary is still in flux, as are the skill positions on offense. The linebacker room might also be drastically different this time next year, and the quarterback of the future remains uncertain at best.
In my estimation, last offseason was phase one of a roster reset. As such, they should not be giving away draft picks for short-term gains. Last winter, when many fans and fellow Steelers analysts were lobbying for the team to make a splash trade with one or more of its 12 draft picks, I instead suggested again and again that Pittsburgh was more likely to make double-digit selections than not. It’s a tried and true method in the NFL. The draft, after all, is a crapshoot. While it’s hard to guarantee that any individual pick will result in an impact player, having more bites at the apple increases a team’s odds of finding meaningful players.
As criticized as some of Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl’s draft classes have been at times by the fan base, the duo has shown a relatively decent track record of finding meaningful players in the mid and late rounds. Players like Zach Fraizer (pick No. 51), Darnell Washington (93), Payton Wilson (98), Mason McCormick (119), Nick Herbig (132), Yahya Black (164), and Carson Bruener (226) are all players selected outside the top-50 that most fans would agree have been positive additions to the roster. Players like Roman Wilson (84) and Jack Sawyer (123) have also had moments.
And while it’s too early to fully judge the rookie class, Everette (85), Gennings Dunker (96), Riley Nowakowski (169), Gabriel Rubio (210), and Robet Spears-Jennings (224) are all players I anticipate being contributors in the coming years. I also think the Khan-Weidl duo has done relatively well with their top picks, as Troy Fautanu (20), Derrick Harmon (21), Max Iheanachor (21), Joey Porter Jr. (32), Bernard (47), and Keeanu Benton (49) are players who have at worst shown they’re talented.
In a vacuum, trading away Day 2 and Day 3 draft picks might seem like a small price to pay for what will hopefully be a boost to this year’s team. But doing so comes with an opportunity cost. One I don’t think is worth the price for the Steelers. At least not yet. Ask me again this time next year.
Popular trade names
Josh Downs, WR
If the Steelers insist on trading for a receiver, Downs is my preferred one. Not only is Downs still a young player, but he also has a skill set that the Steelers’ receiver corps largely lacks: the ability to consistently beat man coverage.
Downs is on the smaller side, 5’9 and 171 pounds, but he’s a less rigid mover than a similar player like Roman Wilson. His size might not mesh well with Rodgers’ propensity to throw contested fade routes, but he can get open quickly underneath, which is another area the Steelers quarterback likes to target. That makes him more appealing to me than trading for a vertical route runner when the Steelers already have Metcalf in the fold, and a Rodgers’ favorite in Marquez Valdes-Scantling, practically for free, if the Steelers need a field stretcher to open things up for the other receivers. Downs is on an expiring rookie contract, which would make retaining him beyond 2026 complicated. The Steelers might already be regretting giving Michael Pittman Jr. a contract extension with cap hits north of $24 million each of the next two years, and it will be fascinating to see if they decide to bail after this season and eat the $15 million in dead cap. – RP
Ladd McConkey, WR
While it certainly wasn’t a concrete trade prediction, I was a little surprised to see NFL insider Jason La Canfora suggest that McConkey “might be the kind of target (Aaron) Rodgers would enjoy throwing to” at the trade deadline. Frankly, I have a hard time seeing why McConkey’s name would ever surface in trade discussions given he still has 2027 left on his rookie contract and has proven himself to be a good player, even with the Chargers’ dismal 0-6 start to the season.
To be fair, McConkey’s production has dipped quite a bit this season as he’s dealt with injuries and a trainwreck of a team, but he was a 1,000-yard receiver as a rookie and still recorded 789 yards in 2025. Like Downs, he’s an extremely twitchy separator, but he has a bit more downfield ability than the Colts wideout (13.3 yards per reception for his career versus 10.9). McConkey would be a long-term investment at WR2, but the Chargers’ asking price, if they have one, would be steep, and the Steelers would probably be looking to move on from Michael Pittman Jr. sooner than later if they made the trade. – RB
Riq Woolen, CB
A streaky, 27-year-old player on an expiring one-year deal. The Steelers could have made a play for Woolen this offseason if they were interested. Instead, they went with the older Jamel Dean, and I’d argue they have been better for it. Woolen is a twitchy athlete with enviable length for his position at 6’4 with 335/8” arms. Woolen would fit in the zone-heavy scheme the Steelers run and is posting the best missed-tackle rate of his career (7.7%) in 2026, but I’d be skeptical to trust that over his career rate (17.9%). He hasn’t made many plays on the ball this year either, with no interceptions and just three pass breakups. This would be a bet on Woolen’s athletic upside, and would make some sense if the Steelers think they could agree to a reasonably priced multi-year deal with him after the season. But if this is just a rental, I would find it hard to justify. – RP
Brian Thomas Jr., WR
Thomas might be the name Steelers fans have been hearing the most about in terms of trade rumors this year. After breaking out as a rookie with 1,282 yards in 2024, Thomas saw his drop rate more than double in 2025 to 11%, while his catch/target rate plummeted to 52.7%. Now in 2026, a player who looked like an ascending WR1 has been an afterthought in the Jaguars’ offense with just nine grabs through six games played this season.
A gifted, big-bodied deep threat, Thomas still has plenty of potential and will likely cost a Day 2 pick at minimum when he’s eventually moved. That’s far too high a price for the Steelers, who already have a Thomas-esque skill set in DK Metcalf, and Roman Wilson has had some similar mental mistakes to the Jaguars’ receiver. Adding a player in the McConkey or Downs mold makes a lot more sense for the Steelers’ wide receiver room if they decide to make a move. – RB
Quentin Johnston, WR
If the Steelers want a lanky, vertical threat with questionable hands, then why wouldn’t they just stick with the receiver like that they have at home (Valdes-Scantling)? At least MVS has Rodgers’ trust. – RP
Alontae Taylor, CB
Taylor has a fully-guaranteed $20.5 million base salary next season and was benched in Week 6 after struggling in a boundary cornerback role with the Titans after signing a big free agent contract this offseason. That should tell you all you need to know here. Maybe a team that’s a nickel cornerback away from greatness considers this trade; I don’t think that’s the Steelers. – RB
Donte Jackson, CB
Again, I wouldn’t love burning a draft pick for an aging player (30) who won’t fit into their plans beyond this year, but at least there are reasons to talk yourself into this one. Jackson is a scheme fit and a proven producer on the ball, with 23 career interceptions, including nine over the previous two seasons. Jackson suffered a hamstring injury that has caused him to miss two games, but after the Chargers were on bye last week, he could see the field again this weekend. The injury might be a reason for concern, but his familiarity with the organization shouldn’t be discounted if the Steelers feel like they need to make a move for a veteran corner. – RP
Charvarius Ward, CB
As mentioned above, Ward is 30 and would likely be a one-year rental as his current three-year, $54 million contract has an out this offseason that would lower his 2027 dead cap hit to just $6.67 million, per Spotrac. He’s also dealt with concussion issues over his career.
Still, Ward is a big boundary cornerback who has long been one of the league’s most underrated at his position. He would instantly give the Steelers some more versatility in terms of coverages the team could play with his zone/man ability as a strong running mate to Jamel Dean. With no trades looking off the table for Indianapolis, Ward is definitely a name to monitor this week. – RB
Zyon McCollum, CB
Another 27-year-old cornerback on an expiring deal. The Steelers have shown a lot of interest in the Tampa Bay defensive backfield, signing Dean this offseason and bringing in Sean Murphy-Bunting, who was in his second stint with the Buccaneers when the Steelers poached him off their practice squad. McCollum is a 6’2 former fifth-round pick who has allowed 37 yards or less in every game except his matchup against Pittsburgh, when he allowed 50 yards. He hasn’t surrendered a touchdown thus far in 2026, and already has chemistry playing opposite Dean.
This would be my preferred corner if the Steelers felt compelled to trade for one, and there could be potential to re-sign him for a relatively reasonable-priced contract after the season. The question is, do the presently 2-5 Buccaneers want to continue to pursue a division title? Tampa Bay is currently in third place in the NFC South, but the Panthers and Falcons each have only three wins, which keeps the Bucs thoroughly in the hunt. – RP
Join in on Steelers R&R by sharing your takes on this week’s topics. Feel free to pitch future questions in the comment section or on Twitter/X: tag @_Ryland_B or @RyanParishMedia, or email us at steelersreadnreact@gmail.com.
